Koppány

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This article is about the late 10th-century rebellious lord. For the late 11th-century chaplain and bishop, see Koppány (bishop).
Koppány
Illuminated Chronicle
Duke of Somogy
ReignAfter 972 - 997 or 998
PredecessorZerind the Bald (?)
SuccessorNone
BornBefore 965
Died997 or 998
Near Veszprém or in Somogy
DynastyÁrpád dynasty
FatherZerind the Bald

Koppány, also called Cupan was a Hungarian lord in the late 10th century and leader of pagans opposing the Christianization of Hungary. As the duke of Somogy, he laid claim to the throne based on the traditional idea of seniority, but was defeated and executed by Stephen (born with the pagan name Vajk), son of the previous grand prince Géza.

According to modern scholars' consensus view, he was a member of the royal

Gyulafehérvár
(now Alba Iulia, Romania).

Family

He was the son of

Illuminated Chronicle.[1] Although no primary source mentions that Koppány was descended from Álmos or Árpád, the first grand princes of the Hungarians, his attempt to seize the throne shows that he was a member of the Árpád dynasty.[2] Historians debate which of the four or five sons of Árpád was Koppány's ancestor.[3] Historians Gyula Kristó, László Szegfű and György Szabados say that Koppány was probably descended from Árpád's oldest son, Tarkatzus,[4][5] but Kornél Bakay (who identified Zerind the Bald with Ladislas the Bald) writes that Árpád's youngest son, Zoltán, was Koppány's forefather.[6] The exact date of Koppány's birth cannot be determined.[7] He was allegedly born between around 950 and 965, because his claim to the throne in 997 shows that he was the oldest member of the Árpád dynasty at that time.[8]

Duke of Somogy

The 14th-century Illuminated Chronicle recorded that "Duke Cupan ... held sway over a duchy"[9] (ducatum tenebat, in Latin) during the reign of Géza, Grand Prince of the Hungarians.[10] Géza, who ascended the throne around 972, was described as a cruel monarch in late 11th-century legends.[11] His fame, along with the fact that only a few late-10th-century members of the royal family are known, suggests that Géza murdered most of his kinsmen, according to historian Pál Engel.[12]

Even if Géza carried out a purge among his relatives, Koppány survived it.

Dráva.[12][15][16][4] Szabados says that Koppány's father had already dominated Somogy and Zala;[17] in contrast, László Kontler writes that Koppány received his duchy from Géza as a compensation after Géza made his own son, Stephen, his heir.[15]

Rebellion and death

A bearded crowned man wearing a lance and the orb and cross
Portrayal of Stephen, Grand Prince of the Hungarians, whom Koppány unsuccessfully tried to dethrone, on the Hungarian coronation pall from 1031

Géza died in 997.

incestuous attempt.[19][21] Both of Koppány's claims suggest that he was pagan, or he inclined to paganism even if he had been baptised.[4]

In the nearly contemporaneous deed of foundation of the

county named Somogy" attempted to dethrone him after his father's death.[22] The late 11th-century Lesser Legend of King St Stephen declared that "certain noblemen whose hearts were inclined to idle banquets" turned against Stephen after his ascension to the throne.[23][24] Both sources suggest that it was not Stephen who started the war, but that Koppány rebelled against him.[25]

Koppány started to "destroy the castles of Stephen, plunder his properties [and] murder his servants", according to the Lesser Legend.[23] The same source also wrote that Koppány laid siege to Veszprém, but Stephen collected his army, marched to the fortress and annihilated Koppány's troops.[23] The German knights who had settled in Hungary after Stephen married Gisela of Bavaria in 996, played a preeminent role in the victory of the royal army.[26][18] The commander of the royal army, Vecelin, was one of the German immigrants.[27] The deed of foundation of the Pannonhalma monastery even referred to the civil war as a fight between "the Germans and the Hungarians".[22][27]

Koppány was killed by Vecelin in the battle near Veszprém, according to Chapter 64 of the Illuminated Chronicle.

Gyulafehérvár (present-day Alba Iulia in Romania).[28]

References

  1. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 240, 243–244.
  2. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 243.
  3. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 243–251.
  4. ^ a b c d Kristó 2001, p. 18.
  5. ^ Szegfű 1994, p. 368.
  6. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 247, 251.
  7. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 251.
  8. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 251–252.
  9. ^ The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle (ch. 39.64), p. 105.
  10. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 252.
  11. ^ Engel 2001, pp. 26, 387.
  12. ^ a b c d Engel 2001, p. 26.
  13. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 240, 252.
  14. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 240, 242.
  15. ^ a b Kontler 1999, p. 53.
  16. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 253, 256.
  17. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 253.
  18. ^ a b c Cartledge 2011, p. 11.
  19. ^ a b Engel 2001, p. 27.
  20. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 261–265.
  21. ^ Kristó 2001, pp. 18–19.
  22. ^ a b Szabados 2011, p. 241.
  23. ^ a b c Kristó 2001, p. 19.
  24. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 242.
  25. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 266.
  26. ^ a b Engel 2001, pp. 26, 39.
  27. ^ a b Engel 2001, p. 39.
  28. ^ a b Kristó 2001, p. 20.
  29. ^ Szabados 2011, p. 267.
  30. ^ Szabados 2011, pp. 267–268.

Sources

Primary sources

  • The Hungarian Illuminated Chronicle: Chronica de Gestis Hungarorum (Edited by Dezső Dercsényi) (1970). Corvina, Taplinger Publishing.
    ISBN 0-8008-4015-1
    .

Secondary sources

Further reading

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